Final testing of the Soyuz launch site at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana began on 29 April 2011. The vehicle was transferred from the preparation building to the launch zone and erected into the vertical position. The mobile gantry was then rolled out to the pad and the vehicle’s 'upper composite' – the Fregat upper stage and payload fairing – was hoisted on top of the launcher

The launch site is 13km northwest of the Ariane 5 launch complex. The launchpad and preparation building are linked by a 600m railway. The launch site is almost identical to the other Soyuz sites in Kazakhstan and Russia, but is adapted to conform to European safety regulations. A 45m-tall mobile gantry provides a protected environment as payloads are installed

The Soyuz VS01 rocket as it is transported to its launchpad on 14 October. It comprises four first-stage boosters clustered around the core second stage, topped off by the third stage. The rocket will carry the first two satellites of Europe's Galileo navigation system into orbit